davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
FISCHER.
LINGG.
SCHWAB.
year later.

Louis Lne- who is convicted Of having
made the boI.lbs. is but - years old and cannot
speak English, Ec is said to have been expelled
from Germany, where he was born, for con-
spiracy.
Michael Schwab is native of Mannheim, Ger
many, was born in 1888 and educated in a
convent. Coming to America In 1879, he worked
for . time at the book binders trade. He became
connected with The Arbeter Zeitung at the same
time as Spies
George Engcl was bora in Cassel, Germany, in
1876, received q common school education, learned
the printers trade and came to America in 1873
year later he located in Chicago, where he soon
embraced Socialism and became en- Anarchist
He established the Northwest Group" in 1888
Adolph Fischer is about 20 years of age and Is
German He came to America when lad and
learned the printers trade with his brother. who
published . German weekly ct Nashville, Tenn.
La.er Adolph edited end published The Little
Rock tArk Stats Zeitudg, which he soil IN loS!-
Then he worked at his trade II ST. Louis and Cai
c2Eo. lie sometimes accused Spies aEd Schwao
OF being too mild, and at one time established
Der Anarchist, paper intended 70 supplaot The
Arbciter Zcitung.
Oscar Eeebe. who received sentence OF fifteen
years il the state prison, is also middle agc1
German.
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

Of I+ande>k." central Germany; one Of his early
D}avtnings was en- cid torture rack with which
the nobies used to cztort money from Jews or
.re.,ui;,te' the peasants, and his favorite haunt
in childhood was On the edge Of deep chaSm
into which the robb~r barons used to throw the
pretty girl; Of the village whCEl they had lid
naDcd and Of whom they had tired There he
grew u, aud thence lie came to America: 20 teach
the Anarchistic doctrine, reaching the new world
in 49, ard Chicago @ year later. There he
worked IS an uDholsterer for numb of years
Igc first showed interest il the theories Of
Socialism in S5 and in 1877 Joined himself to the
Lehr Unl Wyhr-Vcrcin. He was attached to The
Arb, it,r LLctung in 1880 and succeeded Paul
CrottlGu IS editor in chief in 1o2L Everybody
remembers the attachment that sprung UP be-
tween lin and Miss Nina Van Zandt during the
trial, and which resulted in their marriage ~
proxy
Samuel EielG.en was born in Todmorden, Lam
cashrc, England, in 1917. I-e grew UP to bc 4
iaborcr and Methodist field preacher. In 1865
Ii came TO America, and soon located in Chicago,
where hc joined the Liberia, league in $780, there
he 1:,ct Spies and Parsons, and thereafter grew
rapidly i2to anarchial views. Save him and Par
sons. ell the condemned are Germans.
Albert T. Parsons is the only native American
aCIong the condemned Elen. Born i'll Alabama
in 1873 and carly left an orphan, he was reared
Ey lis brother, who WAS afterwards the noted
Confederate general, W H. Parsons. He served
in te Confederate artillery when but II years
old: but after the war he became n Ecpu5-
liccn, and in 1872 married woman 'suspectt d
Of l:avin; negro blood i'll her VEINS for which
his brother GisOwned him. Before this he had
been Gr q printer cn The Galveston CrtG.) News
and late editor of The Waco CTCI.) Spectator.
Because OF this marriage be was obliged t. leave
Texas, and locating in Chicago he worked in
var ois printing Offices, but after a time became
4 professional labor agitator; was at one time
master workman Of District Assembly -, Knights
Of Labor and was president of the trades as
semb!y for three years. He was nominated for
the presidency by tho Socalistic party i'll 1880, but
declined. as he was not then g years of age. II
1888, a. Pttsburf,, he helped frame the platform
Of the International Working Peoples associa-
ton. He vas naIned for city clerk of Chicago By
tie ;.ocia!ists in 1893, and became editor of The
Alarm, the organ Of the American Group" o
vccr later
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
HENDERSON. n. c.. THURSDAY. NOVEMBER II, 1887.

day, Aug %, returned a verdict CT guilty
against ell the defendants, with a sentence of
fifteen years in the penitentiary for Oscar
Nccbc, and death for the other seven.
Tho trial began and ended with sensations.
On the first day A. R. Parsons, who had
escaped and been in hiding, walked into the
courtroom, announced his voluntary sur
Gender and took his place in the dock WITH
his friends. At the close, when asked by the
court if they had aught to say why sentence
OF death should not be pronounced, they all
made long addresses, those of Parsons and
Fielden being the best That OF Spies con-
sisted of pleading and defiance, reasoning on
liberty and quotations from Scripture. In
the course OF his remarks he spoke Of Christ
as Socialist Schwab and Ncebc gavo cr-
guElcnts against tho regularity Of the trial.
Ficiden excited. some astonishnent by say
ing: The great Socialist, Jesus Christ, said
1900 years ago: Better that nincty-nine
guilty l2en should go unpunished than that
ono innocent man should suffer-" Judge
Gary then sentenced the seven rlcn to lie
hanged
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

repchcl when 733, ,993 Europeans landed in
the United States immigration from Eng
land had declined and that from Ireland
fallen to minimum; but from southern
Germany thcro was an immense increase,
while eastern Europe sent Poles, Bohcinians,
Ru1sians, iiunSarians and their cOn3cHcrs by
tens uc thousands In many of these people
hatred OF government had become h"rcdl-
tary sentiment. Chicago became hcadquar-
ter. for the discOntented, and The Arhciter
Xcitun- (TTOr.;cl~5' Journal their organ. Then
sp:uI@ up il that city the international
Ncrllin~mcn's association. The platform or
declaration of principles of this organization,
n; was testified to at the trial, urged that
''tha present system under which property is
o,"acI By Individuals should be destroyed,
end that all ca?ital which has been produced
h. labor Should be Transformed into com
hon property" The association was divi-
llcd into groups" of which there were
aighty ii The United States in March, 1885,
located principally in the cites OF industry.
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

suppressed By tie police with great difficulty
II February, 1855, the ECriricn at tla Nc
CGrmIci; factory struck, and Pinl:cr5on's
mon vGrc employed TO Gctcnd tic property,
and there was rot. On May l, 1885, TIE
wolkin5Incn OF Chicago, with few cxcc,o-
tons, carried out their plan OF a general
strii,c Tor cn eight hour day. The strike was
well managed a2d partially successful. On
Nay > August Spies delivered q fierce philip
pie against tho non-uniol men still employed
Ct the Mccormick works, ard there wGS an
encounter between tho "scabs' and police On
ono side and the strikers Oh tho other. A
short and terrible fight occurred; several
men wore killed and many mere wounded il
various degrees. From tho battle ground
August Spies hurried to the Office Of The
ArOeiter Ie;tung, wrote and had printed and
distributed the noted revenge circular.
On Nay / there was rlOtiIg nearly ell Gay
or Blue Island avenue, near tho Mccormick
works. The First regiment was ordered to
be il readiness at its arInory and tie entire
police force was kept in instant readiness
Tho Arbcitcr 2citung OF that morning urged
destructive action, and tho Anarchists were
busy among the strikers all day. Thousands
Of copies Of tho following notice were scat
tered through the city:
ATTENTION, wORRISGGCN!
Great mass meeting tonight ct 80 O'Clock at
The Hay market, Randolph street, between DeS-
PLANES and Halstead Good speakers will Be
present to dcnounce the latest atrocioUS acts CT
the pOIice-thc shooting Of our fellow workmcn
yesterday afternoon WorhinEmen, arm your
selves and appear in full force
TIE EXECUTIVE Committee.
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

The agitation growing out of the attempt
to enforce the eight hour law led directly to
the tragedy. As early as May, 1854, tho Or
Ganized workingInen Of Chicago gave notice
that OH the Isl of May, 1856, they would in
sist uron TIE general observance Of tho law.
1t is not necessary to detail the numerous
strikes and occasional riots of the following
two year, IL various sections of the country;
suffice it, that each one was eagerly seized
upon by the anarchists as fresh proof that
capitol was crushing labor.
On April %, l35;7 tho now board of trade
building was formally opened; there was u
soElcHh2t Iio,ous popular demonstration
aGainG5 it, and Fieiden and Parsons addressed
the assenblage in language moro inflaIama-
tory than ever before. In July, 1850, there
was q general st~;l;e of street car erlp!oEes
Ono riot was cIcited which was only
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

The Chicago groups were known IS the
North Side the Northwest Side, the A,ncri-
ran, the Karl Marx, the Frc;heit, tic South
wet Side and Jefferson No l. Schwab,
Ncchn and LinGS belonged to the North Side
''l~rour;' Eugci and Fischer 10 the Northwest
S.I", and Spies, Parsons and Ti"l;icH to the
American. There was also an armed social
isti organization called tho Lchr uud Webr-
Ec.'cin, whose members s2c:n to have al>o
lc2n members of the international ,roupa,"
| =, to have been of higher rank.
Tho branch of the International Working
rlcn'.; association which existed il Chicago
during 1855 and UP to May +, 1856, w.ss q corn
pact, well disciplined organization. At tie
head Of il was a general or central commit
tee. Next to it came the I.chr uud Wchr-
Ec-cin. Then came the ARMED sections" of
the various groups and then came TIE un-
ar.neI members of the groups"
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
JUST BEFORE THE TRAGEDY.


The evolution of the tragedy was curiously
regular.
F.rSt, rs has been shown, these mca taught
radical Socialism. Next, they organized dis
contentcI vor1ingmcn to act more efficiently
il strikes The usual trouble arose: "scahs"
too, tie place OF striking workmcn, they
were attacked by the strikers, the police were
called on for protection and the inevitable
question was prcsontcd-Shali we fighti The
Anarchists, il speech and in The Arbci5er
XeituuT, vehcmcltly urged destructive
measures. They eELorted the strikers to
fi~ht both the "scabs" and the police, gave
mimic instructions how to use nitro-girccrine
and manufacture bombs, and had armed
sections of their supporters who drilled
nightly ard were instructed in the use OF
bombs.
At lcuEth i WAS boldly announced that the
Anarchists had 100 armed and well drilled
revolutionists III Chicago, and it was proved
that thcy really had 100 at this time, as was
sworn to during the trial. The Arbeiter Zci-
tung and The Alarm published many sucA
sentiments as these:
Daggcrs and rcvolvers are easily to be gotten;
hand grcnadcs are Cheaply to be produced
VIII the worknSmen supply themselves with
weapons dynamite and prUssic acidf
The workingmen ought to take aim ut every
member OF the militia.
And while the writer's acted with what
they probably considered caution, the speak
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

GtI'Cctipn Of the two sections il tho revised
statutes Of Illinois chapter IS, div =, sect ions
= and p, which abolish tho previous distinc-
ton bctweel principal and accessory, and
provide thai any one Whl, rot being pres
sclt, hath advised, encouraged, aided or
ebcttcl, = * SHALL be considered as
principal ard = * may be punished cs
such, whether tho principal IS convicted o.
not" Cn tho 18th of september the court
rendered al opinion, which fills twcnty-onc
c,JsciJ printed columns, ard is an exhaustive
opposition O. tho law, fully confirming the
decision Of the ooTrt below And So the l5ris-
occr5 were sentenced to be hanged Oh the
11th Of November, 1887. Another hope re-
NAMED. Gen. Roger A. Pryor, Gen. Bcnja-
min L Butler and Hon. Randolph Tucker wero
employed as experts i'll constitutional law,
and I'll appeal made to tho supreme court ct
the United States, tho chief allegation being
that tho accused had not been tried by en-
Impartial jury" as required By tho national
constitution. Tho revised statutes of Illinois
permit tho choice OF a juryElan who has
formed an opinion from reading newspaper
accounts of the case, provided he makes oath
that his opinion is not such as could not DO
overthrown by evidence. The question Of
tie taking Of q letter without warrant from
Spies desk was also brought up.
Tho supreme court Of the United States
rendered its decision on the ed CT November,
holding, il brief, that the jury law of Illinois
does Eo5 contrayene any provision CT tho Ga-
tieEal constitution, and that the question Gs
to whether the state constitution and laws
had been strictly observed was one for tie
state courts alone. Tho court confined itself
very strictly to the case before it, entering
into tho general questions raised only 50 far
as absolutely necessary. But two points,
therefore, wero passed upon in regard to the
amendments. The court held that the first
ten amendments limit tho powers of the Fed
era1 government, not the powers of a state
over its citizens; and that the Fourteenth
amendment has not changed the rule in that
respect. In ell other matters the court holds
that it has no jurisdiction, as the questions
as to violating the national constitution wcre
not raised or argued in the Illinois court.
Therefore, 8 writ of error could not issue.
OF the various appeals and petitions crd
meetings protesting against the execution of
the Anarchists VIC have not room to speak At
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
THE EATEFUI NIGHT.

On the evening of Maya about 2,0G0 people
assembled. The managers placed the wagon
on which the speakers were to stand little
way up Desp.aines street from tie Hay
market, by the mouth of q convenient alley,
and 1T point where they could have full
view of the police as the latter advanced
from their Dess:laiHcs Street station. Mayor
Carter Harrison wcS IN the crowd and ex-
pressed GOrlo surprise at the mildncss of tie
first speakers, Spies and Parsons. The crowd
was disappointed, too and was fast melting
away. when Tf1llo-2 took his stand in the
wagon. His most intimate English friends
could not have recognized the mild Metlo-
dist exhOr;er and l5Norer of other days. His
frcn.iad defamation eEcited what remained
OF t,e crowd, end the. applause reacted on
him. Il wGS testified at the trial that he
called for immediate action i'll these words:
Arm, Arm! Throttle and kill the law!
Then Inspector Bonfield decided to dispcrse
the Meeting. Seven companies of policemen,
10 men, i'll Pts co--s reaching from curb to
curb, marched from their station of Dcs-
PLANES street north to the wagon As they
drew near, Fie,.,ei2 is sworn to have shouted:
Here come ne biooihounds; you do your
duty and I'll do minc!"
Capt. Ward, of the police, called out:
I'm the name Of the people of the state Of
Illinois 1 command you to peaceably dis
perse!'
Fielden stepped down from the wagon ex-
claiming:
1--WE are peaceableE
1t was claimed by the prosecution that the
word '.peaceable' was the signal agreed on.
There was dead silence for perhaps ten
seconds, the crowd slowly moving off and
the police standing firm, when a strange
fzzins sound was heard near the mouth at
the alley and thence r,stle bcIl rose in curve
over the wagon and fell between the second
and third companies OF police. There was
binding fash, an explosion that was heard
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

4 4-c2libcr revolver and q peculiar knife
E1adc FROM . fat file. All were relc'.sed af-
ter the inquest except SclIwab, Fischer and
August Spies. The condemned and some
others were held without bail May l., the
grand jury nlct and listened to a charge by
the late judge Rogers; on tie eth they
handed IL indictments against tho mon since
condemned and Anton Hirschhurger and
John APPEL besides. On making up his case
the prosecutor noilied the indictments
against the last two, the eTidcncc being i'll
sufficient. On the 21st of June TIE trial be-
gan before Judge Gary. Three weeks and
.nrco days v;ero consumed il making Up q
Jury; PSI tale5nlc1 wero examined, both
sides cxhailsting every power the law gave
them. The names of the jury wero as fol-
lows:
Frank 6. Osborne. foreman; james II. Cole,
Scott G. Randall Theodore L. Dcnker, Charles D.
Todd. Andrew Hamilton, Charles y. Ludwi-,
James Il Brcyton, Alanson II. Reed, John D.
Grcnier, George ". Adams, Howard I. Sanford
The trial lasted from July Is to AuT. % il
elusive and attracted the attention Of the
civilized worid-scarccly more By tho inDor-
tancc Of the issues than by the abilities Of
the counsel. On behalf OF the state appeared
States Attorney Julius S. Grin1cll, assisted
by Messrs Frank Walker, Edmund Furth-
man and George C. IlSham; fer the accused,
Capt w F. Black, Moses Salomon, ". A.
Foster cad Sigmund Eeisler The jury
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

two miles and 9 deep prolonged roar, cchoing
from the builiings-thcn appalling ccreac2as
end 4 vollcy Of pistol shots. The smoke
lifted, and the ground appeared coverel with
slain-blt ONLY for Oh instant Two whole
companies Of police had been thrown 20 the
ground, of whom one. Matthias ]. DeCGn,
was instantly killed, six E1ortai!y wounded
and sixty others hurt i'll various degrees.
But the police rallied ct once and with the
firmncs3 and steadincss of veterans, they
sprang forward c.nptyin5 their r2volvers
into tho fling crowd as they Wet, and fol
lowing their shots with their clubs they
cleared the street in less than thrcc minutes
OF all save the deed and wounded. From
alle@, gutter and hallway came deep groan5
and curses.
l. Is estimated that twenty Of tho crowd
were killed and about $50 wounded. An An
archis5 nar1cd I,ist,cc was killed by the
bomb. Besides Officer Degan, killed outright,
the policemen who died of their wounds were
j. j. Barrett, George Miller, Timothy Fla1i-
han, Michael ShcehG:l, Thomas Rcidin GId
Me-; HanSe1. After tie dispersion OF the
mob came tac saddes5 scenes of the occasion
Tho dead and wounded policemen were rap
idly conveyed to tho station, the latter made
as comfortable as possible and surgeons
called; but lot before their wives and near
relatives hurried there, for bad news flies
fast. The tears Of como, tho sob3 and loud
cries Of others, tho Groans, the gashcs, tho
blood and 1langled bo1ics-au these formed
sccro to wiring the hearts Of tao pitifu!.
Within O few weeks Chicago had contributed
S70C10 for tic care Of tho wounded police
2:,L the relief Of their families G2d those CT
the Gead.
Tho bomb used is said 70 have bcc1 OF tie
sane pattern used to Ill the car OF Russia,
and is very well shown ii tho initial letter
cJl5 OF this account. It was Ilado Of comIjo-
sitiol metal cups fastened together nearly in
the form OF a sphere with a bolt and nut.
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
APPEALS TO HIGHER COURTS.

~ 1.IO ! ~ tliNlt t-it SSONI
The usual application for a new trial was
filed and the entire method of the trial rc
argued for several days. The application be
ing refused, an appeal was taken to the
supreme court of Illinois, and once more the
whole case was thoroughly argued It is
needless to detail tie legal steps; suffice it
that SO much time was consumed that the
case did not reach the supreme court till
March II, 1857. Then Me5srs Grinnen,
Walker, Insham and Attorney General
Hunt, for the state, and Mcssrs. Black, Salo-
mon, Zeisler and Leonard SWEET, for the &c
fense, discussed the issues as to whether the
court below he'd erred, whether the Anar-
chists had been legally condemned to Lcath
for mere conspiracy, whether tie jury was
properly constituted and many others.
Tho weight of argument before the
supreme court turned upon tlo proper con
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

in 1857, enlisted in
the Twelfth Illinois
at the outbreak Cf
the war, and served
TIL the last Coufed-
crate had laid down
his arms. He went in
as a corporal and
came out q captain.
July 0, 1867, he was
first enrolled as c po-
liceman, and il Oc-
tober, 1853, he was at
the head of the force.
III the army he was
120 days under fire
in battle or S.iir9liSh.
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

was a afterwar f d
claimed, threw the
bomb, wes among
those arrested, but
t ho cvid n ce
against him was
not deemed suh.
cic1t to hold him
and he was 10,
leased. IIo inDe-
Giate!y left Ameri-
ca end is now sup
posed to be in Ger
IL any. y d dip b
Fischer was ono Of
thc printers, and on
lis person when cr-
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

ers used language
of q very illfiam-
ratory character.
Still. though one of
the Chicago papers
had predicted seri-
Gus trouble, the
meetings were not
suppress ssed. Blu:
FIR c derrick Eber-
SOLD, superintend-
ent, and John Bon
field, inspector Of
police, were well
aware of the extent
OF tho discomfort
and made the most
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..

On the Gay after the tragedy the police dc
seconded Oh every known Anarchist resort il
Chicago and arrested every suspected man;
before morning many had been dragged from
their beds Every one in The Arbciter
Zcitung Office was arrested: August Spies,
editor III chief; Christ Spies, his brother;
Michael Schwab, associate editor; Mrs EEz-
abcth May Holmes, editorial contributor;
eighteen printers, two reporters and two
mCSGenCars. Rulo!Dh SchnaEbclt, who, it
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

elaborate preparations to meet the outbreak
when it should come.
Capt. John Bonfcld, who assumed the rospon.
shiity On the night Of the tragedy, as the day
OF the previous riot, was born in 1886 in New
B-uaswici., his father being County Clare Irish
HiaE lately a""ivcd in that province In lG44 tLs
.Gio:'y moved TO Chicago, where John learned
the trade Of q nIacEinist and afterward became n
locomotive engineer. In 1877 he became police
and rose rapidly il rank.
Superintendent of Police Frederick ]. Ehcrsold
was born in Bavaria in 1841, emigrated to Illinois
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
ANARCHY IN AMERICA.

OON after tho close
of the civil war i'll
the United States
immigration, al
ways of 10 mean
roportions, s, i'll
creased rapidly.
It was then the
American public
first began to hear
much Of co:nnun-
ism, socialism and
anarchisIn. In 1882
tho ,Da<ir,e11It1 WAC
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17
The ANARCHISTS SIDE.

Perhaps Tie best possible summary Of the
anarchists defense Of their action end Their
toiicf is found II tho letters adtrcSscd b. t1c
condemned % Governor Oc!esby, Of lii..o-s-
exs-ac.5 from which are Gi"cl:
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

in many cities by reason Of her speeches in
his behalf Mrs. Schnaubeit, mother of the
alleged bomb thrower, and Mrs. Schwab, her
daughter, were recently brought into special
prominence by reason Of the elder lody's visit
to America and the rumor that she had
brought with her full statement of the
facts in the case from her son. Spies, Fielden
and Schwab finally signed petitions for
cor1nutation- All these things can only
be alluded to here. Among other cuts we
give portrait Of Sheriff Matson, Of Cook
county Ills
The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1887-11-17

Tho defense of August Spies may be found
in many sentences of his letters to Miss Van
Zandt and Others, and in his biography and
his notable address to the court before sem
tence was pronounced. In the latter Ee said,
among other things:
Your honor, speak as the representative ct
one class to the representative of another. l viii
begin with the words uttered by the Venetian
do:,c Falicri 10 the Council CT ten: My cofcrsc is
your nccuSaticn the causes Of my alleged crime
your history" \ little later hc says: The c,,-
tcnplGtet murder OF eight Incn, whose orly
crime is that they have Cared 10 speak the truth,
may open The eyes Of the suffering millions, NAY
wake them up. Indeed. have roticcd that cur
conviction hes worked miracles ia this dhect.on
air ready"